Panasonic Donates More Solar Lanterns

Panasonic Solar Lantern

Panasonic Corporation has donated 3,000 solar lanterns to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for use in Ebola affected regions.

This latest donation adds to a previous distribution in December last year. The lanterns in this shipment are destined for Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

While the Ebola crisis in West Africa has disappeared from the headlines, the battle goes on and the aftermath presents many challenges.

Even simple things such as adequate lighting for treating patients can be scarce. Additionally, as all the personal belongings of patients must be destroyed as a measure to contain the disease, this has left many already poor people even worse off.

The solar lanterns,  which can be used for 6 to 8 hours during the night, will be distributed to medical personnel, community workers, as well as to patients who survived. For many of the latter, it will be their only source of reliable light.

“Businesses are now helping us fight Ebola with unprecedented innovation and creativity. Their contribution will also stay in those countries on the long-term, serving very important basic needs,” said Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, the Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa.

The recent incident was the first Ebola virus outbreak to reach epidemic proportions. As at July 12, 2015, there have been 27,678 reported cases and 11,276 deaths according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

For the survivors, the physical effects linger; with many suffering Post-Ebola Syndrome. This includes joint pain, hair and memory loss and vision problems – which can ultimately lead to blindness.

The epidemic has had major economic consequences in the three countries, particularly relating to tourism.

The latest donation from Panasonic is part of an ambitious, larger goal. By 2018,  the company intends donating 100,000 solar lanterns to NPOs, NGOs, humanitarian assistance institutions and other international organizations for use in emerging/developing countries through the “100 Thousand Solar Lanterns Project“.

Currently, approximately 1.3 billion people live without access to electricity globally, many of whom live in the developing countries of Asia and Africa. Many of these people use kerosene lamps, which are expensive to run, polluting and dangerous.

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